By Eliza PARTIKA

Students get hands-on experience while learning about healthcare options.

On March 7, USC Verdugo Hills Hospital hosted 72 local high school students for its annual Healthcare Day of Discovery. Hands-on activities and career panels with health professionals and more showcased various healthcare career paths, including CPR and emergency services, forensics, Narcan care [for opioid overdoses], vascular ultrasound, nutrition, aging and stroke care, and the possibilities artificial intelligence provides the healthcare industry. 

Marie Filipian, Community Benefits manager at Verdugo Hills, said these activities engage students and give them a preview of life in healthcare.   

“It gives them a preview of the critical life-saving work that happens in our hospital every day. By focusing on these particular skills, we can give them a meaningful and tangible experience of what it’s like to work in the healthcare field, and these experiences help them see that healthcare is dynamic, rewarding and essential,” Filipian said. 

Students were led through several hands-on activities where they were hooked up to heart monitors, fingerprinted during a crime scene forensics demonstration, learned CPR and how to perform vascular ultrasounds and administer IV fluids. 

New on the list of panels was a discussion about the impact of artificial intelligence and technology on healthcare. Armand Dorian, MD, MMM, CEO of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital said introducing students to the ways artificial intelligence is and will continue to expand possibilities in healthcare and teaches students how to use their understanding of and interest in technology to help patients. 

“These kids are going to be part of the generation that cures cancer,” he said. “They’re going to be part of the generation that is going to see people live past 120-130 years old. AI is going to recognize patterns that the human brain couldn’t. [These students are] going to be able to take that information and use really specific treatments that are tailored to each person; that type of precision care is unimaginable now. It will be fun to watch.”

This year’s activities also included a presentation on the effects of overdose and how to administer Narcan, a first for the program. Dorian said adding Narcan to the hands-on activities is part of responsible healthcare. 

  “Just broaching the topic of what Narcan is, how it’s given, why it’s important – it’s us doing our mission right. Our job as healthcare workers is not only to take care of people who are sick, but also to take care of people who are healthy and keep them healthy and train them to be able to help those in need,” Dorian said. 

  Training students to help those in need is just as important as being realistic with their career goals, said Dorian. Panelists like Kevin Park, RDN, clinical registered dietitian with USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, emphasized that his path was not one he expected; he’d planned on going into pharmacy but realized in medical school that his passion lay in healthy eating. Park joined Verdugo Hills a year and a half ago after graduating from college. Speaking to students about his journey resonated because his path was similar to theirs. 

“I took as many different routes as possible and sought the one that fit my interests best,” he said. “If your career path changes [with your interests], that’s okay.”

Several of the students expressed a new desire to go into healthcare or learn more about careers in the healthcare field.

Alec Kendirjian, an 11th grade student at AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School, developed his interest in anesthesiology and cardiology because his uncle is an anesthesiologist. He was especially interested in the Cardio Fitness Lab demonstration where he saw cardiology practices in action. 

“They explained how they take the time with all ranges of ages and try to help them as much as they can with their cardio and their bodily functions and how their heart rate and different body parts react to exercise and different movements,” he said. “It’s piqued my interest so far because although there’s many years of school ahead of me were I to take the courses to become an anesthesiologist, [my uncle] told me that all his work has been worth it because he’s been able to help these patients go through these life-changing surgeries,” Kendirjian said. 

Dylan Ketrola, a sophomore at Verdugo Hills High School, said she is interested in the intersection of information technology and medicine. Before this event, she hadn’t considered being a doctor because of the amount of memorization it would require. But she was pleased to learn, through the panels and activities, that she could have a real chance to help others with her skills. 

“I’ve always been much better at [applying things] and so it really caught my interest and I realized that it’s very cool. It’s just a bunch of puzzles and problem solving, then you get to save people’s lives through it and it’s the best of all possible worlds,” she said. 

Ketrola said she learned that doctors are not “a stern person in a lab coat” but are “kind, nice and compassionate” people. 

“I think that that’s one of the main takeaways – that medicine isn’t scary [and]  there’s something for every kind of specific interest,” she added. 

Filipian said she hopes students are left with a clear understanding of the diverse opportunities available in healthcare. 

“We want them to feel empowered and motivated to pursue their interest in the field,” she said. 

Dorian said he hopes the community and the students embrace what they learn at the Day of Discovery so they can expand their minds, and expand what is possible in healthcare. 

“It’s kind of like when you walk into a buffet and if there were only two items; you’d be like, ‘I got to pick one or this or that.’ We’re just opening up a bunch more food options for them to actually think about [what they want], and that’s the most important takeaway –  just think about it. And once you start thinking about it, you can dream it. And if you can see yourself doing it, you’re already halfway there to doing it,” he said.